President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has received Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah at the Presidential Complex in the capital, Ankara, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
The two leaders held a closed-door meeting and were accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın, sources said.
Türkiye and Libya have seen closer ties in recent years, especially after the signing of security and maritime boundary pacts in November 2019, along with Türkiye’s aid to help the internationally recognized Libyan government push back putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s forces.
Türkiye’s national flag carrier earlier this week resumed flights from Istanbul to Libya’s northeastern city of Benghazi after 10 years.
Turkish Airlines started flights to Benghazi in May 2009 and operated regularly until their suspension in January 2015 over worsening security in the North African country.
Libya has seen more than a decade of stop-start conflict since a NATO-backed revolt toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, with a myriad of militias forming opposing alliances backed by foreign powers.
Türkiye supported the U.N.-recognized legitimate government in Tripoli against the eastern-based illegitimate forces led by Haftar, who was backed by Egypt, France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia.
Türkiye’s support for the Tripoli government was critical in repelling the Haftar forces’ offensive to capture the capital, Tripoli and led to a period of stability that resulted in the formation of a unity government.
However, the factional struggle continues. The U.N. recently announced a new initiative to overcome a three-year deadlock and move the divided oil-rich North African nation toward a national election.